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ABSTRACT

A knitting aid for wrapping a yarn around the knitting pegs for a knit loom for weaving. The knitting aid comprises a cylindrical elongated hollow body having an open top and an open bottom and a substantially conical shaped tip removably coupled to the open bottom of hollow body. The bottom opening of the conical tip called aperture permits a yarn inserted from the open top of hollow body to protrude out, and the protruding yarn could be wrapped around the knitting pegs while the person could grip the hollow body in hand. The invention is advantageous for quickly and conveniently wrapping the yarn around the pegs and particularly useful for elderly and people lacking fine motor skills.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

Not Applicable

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 Field of Invention

This invention relates to knitting loom and in particular to a handheld device used for laying the warp around the pegs of loom.

2 Background of Invention

The knit Looms are simple handheld devices widely used for non-commercial weaving. The typical knit loop includes a base and plurality of knitting pegs projecting upwards from the base. The knit looms could be produced in different shapes for example rectangular and round shapes. An example of rectangular loop includes a commercially available Knifty Knitter™ loom available from PROVO CRAFT®. The pegs of the knit loom are configured to hold the warp loops and the woven weft loops. Prior art discloses different designs of the knit loops, for example, a U.S. Pat. No. 8,596,096 issued to Simplicity Pattern Co., Inc. discloses a knitting loom that includes a base structure with pin receiving openings for receiving knitting pegs. Another U.S. Pat. No. 8,402,794 issued to Simplicity Pattern Co., Inc. discloses a convertible knitting loom that includes a first body and a second body that are connected via a hinge so that the bodies can rotate relative to each other and used in more than one configuration.

Although the knit loom is a simple is construction and use, laying the yarn around the closely spaced knitting pegs could be tedious and may require fine motor skills. The process could become more difficult for elderly or people suffering from disorders like arthritis where the fine motor skills of the hands are affected. Moreover, knitting for long durations could produce pain in hands. Prior art discloses device to aid in knitting, for example, a U.S. Pat. No. 6,449,987 issued to Deborah Lynn Poole discloses a one-handed knitting aid to facilitate hand knitting by persons without the full use of one hand.

A need is clear for a knitting aid that allows a person to quickly and conveniently wrap the yarn around the knitting pegs and is particularly useful for elderly and people lacking fine motor skill of hand.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, therefore, has as its principal object to provide a knitting aid for wrapping the yarn around the knitting pegs of a knit loom.

Another object of present invention is that the knitting aid is simple in use.

Yet another object of present invention is that the knitting aid is economical to manufacture.

Certain embodiments of present invention, but are not limited to, is to provide a knitting aid for wrapping a yarn around the knitting pegs for a knit loom for weaving. The knitting aid comprises a substantially cylindrical elongated body having an open top and an open bottom and a substantially conical shaped tip. The tip and the bottom portion of body having complementary threads permitting securing the tip to the tube. In another embodiment, a hole is provided near the bottom area of the body such that a person gripping the body in hand could press the thumb against the inner wall of body through the hole. In another embodiment, a layer of grip material could be provided on outer surface of the body to improve handing of the knitting aid in hands. Yet in another embodiment, tips with different aperture sizes could be provided for use with different thickness yarns.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To further clarify various aspects of some example embodiments of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawing. It is appreciated that the drawing depicts only illustrated embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a line diagram of the body of knitting aid.

FIG. 2 is the body of FIG. 1 further having a grip in bottom area.

FIG. 3 is the line diagram of a tip.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a knitting aid for use in wrapping yarn around the knitting pegs of a knit loom.

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure and will not be interpreted in an idealized overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

Looking at the figures, which illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, which is a knitting aid. The FIG. 1 illustrates the body 1 of a knitting aid, which is an elongated hollow cylindrical body/barrel having an open top and an open bottom. The size of the hollow body permits a person to hold the hollow body in hand and the hollow body could be produced in different sizes. Furthermore, the hollow body could be produced in different shapes for example rectangular, square or multiple walls forming a substantially round shape. The yarn can be inserted into the hollow body through the open top and protrude out of the body from the bottom end. Further, a hole/cut is provided in the bottom area of the hollow body. The hole is positioned such that a person gripping the hollow body in hand could press his/her thumb against the inner wall of the body through the hole. The purpose of the hole is to provide tensioning in the yarn whereby the person could press the yarn against the inner wall of the body through thumb. The amount of tension produced in the yarn should be proportional to the pressure applied by the thumb. The figure further shows the bottom end of body having threads 2 for securing a tip, shown in FIG. 3 to the bottom end of the hollow body. The portion of the body, as shown in FIG. 2, could further include an outer layer of a grip material 3 that enhances the holding of the body in hand. The grip could be produced from any suitable material that provide grip against the skin of hand, such as soft rubber or silicon material, and the grip may further includes ribs or projections for improving the grip. The body of the knitting aid could be produced from suitable materials such as plastic or metal. It is preferable to use plastic for producing body as the plastic is light in weight and feels soft in the hands. Metals such as aluminum could also be preferably used.

The FIG. 3 shows a line diagram of the tip, which is a funnel/conical shaped hollow member, the diameter of the open top is substantially similar to the diameter of the hollow body, and lateral wall extends parallely to certain length, slants inwards thereafter, and terminates to form an aperture. The top cylindrical portion of the tip has complementary threads for fastening the tip to the bottom end of the hollow body, wherein the hollow body has the male threads and the tip has the female threads. It is however obvious that the tip could be secured to the hollow body using mechanism other than complementary threads, for example, the tip could snap fit to the body. The yarn protruding from the bottom end of the body is passed through the aperture of tip. The lower opening of the tip referred herein as aperture is of size according to the thickness of the yarn. Thus, more than one tip with different aperture sizes could be provided for different thickness yarns, and the different tip could be replaced. The tipping could be produced from same or different material used in producing the body for example the tip could be produced from plastic material.

In another embodiment, a yarn is hooked to the needle, the needle is inserted in the body and is drawn out from the aperture of tip, and with the needle, yarn protrudes out from the aperture, which could then be wrapped around the knitting pegs.

It is to be understood that the knitting aid encompasses a variety of alternatives. For example, the hollow body of the knitting aid could be produced in variety of shapes, such as the hollow body may made of three or more walls defining the volume of the body, and include triangular, square, polygonal and round cylindrical hollow tube. The diameter of the hollow body could be varied, and may be of sufficient width permitting most variety of yarns having different thickness could easily pass through the hollow body. Furthermore, the hole in the hollow body could be of any shape and size, and is preferably a thumb shaped cut in the hollow body with smoothened edges. Furthermore, the knitting aid may include various forms of indicia and color. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A knitting aid for wrapping yarn around one or more knitting peg of a knit loom, said knitting aid comprising: a. an elongated hollow member having an open top, an open bottom, and plurality of lateral walls defining the volume of said hollow member; b. a substantially conical shaped hollow tip member having an open top portion and a narrow aperture at bottom, said open top portion adapted for removably coupling to said open bottom of elongated hollow member.
 2. The knitting aid of claim 1, wherein said hollow body further comprises a hole permitting a person gripping said knitting aid in a hand to press his/her thumb against an inner wall of said hollow body.
 3. The knitting aid of claim 1, wherein said hollow body further comprises an outer layer of grip material.
 4. The knitting aid of claim 3, wherein said grip material is a rubber.
 5. The knitting aid of claim 3, wherein said grip material is a silicon.
 6. The knitting aid of claim 3, wherein said outer layer or grip material further comprise ridges or small protrusions.
 7. The knitting aid of claim 1, wherein said aperture is of a size permitting said yarn of a particular thickness to pass through.
 8. The knitting aid of claim 1, wherein inner diameter said hollow body is 0.5-0.75 in.
 9. The knitting aid of claim 1, wherein said elongated hollow member is an elongated cylindrical hollow body.
 10. A method of wrapping a yarn around one or more knitting pegs of a knit loom for weaving, said method comprising the steps of: providing a knitting aid, said knitting aid comprising: a. an elongated hollow member having an open top, an open bottom, and plurality of lateral walls defining the volume of said hollow member; b. a substantially conical shaped hollow tip member having an open top portion and a narrow aperture at bottom, said open top portion adapted for removably coupling to said open bottom of elongated hollow member; inserting an open end of said yarn through said open top of elongated hollow member, said open end protruding out form said aperture; gripping said knitting aid in one hand and wrapping said yarn around one or more knitting pegs.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein said method further comprises the step of providing a hole in said elongated hollow body permitting said person gripping said knitting aid in said hand to press his/her thumb against an inner wall of said hollow body, pressure applied by said thumb against said inner wall is proportional to tension produced in said yarn.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein said person is an elder person.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein said person is having arthritis affecting said hands.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein said person is a person having compromised fine motor skills of hands.
 15. The method of claim 10, wherein said elongated hollow member is an elongated cylindrical hollow body.
 16. The method of claim 10, wherein inner diameter said hollow body is 0.5-0.75 in. 